Sony DEV-5 Digital Recording Binoculars hands-on

Sony's imaging wing has been on a roll lately, with the brilliant NEX-7 and equally impressive Alpha A77 DSLR simply blowing us away with brand new features and excellent image quality. But these $2,000 digital binoculars? Yeah, we're not so sure. We went hands-on with a pre-production sample of the 3D binocs, which replace the traditional optical finders with a pair of high-res LCD EVFs. But when you consider that high-end binoculars are a joy to use because of their excellent optical viewfinders, swapping in an electronic version puts the DEV-3 ($1,400) and DEV-5 ($2,000) in a completely new category - if an excellent (and traditional) viewing experience is what you're after, these "cost-competitive" optics really won't hit the spot.
source:Engadget

Ricoh unveils GR Digital IV camera

Looking for a fixed-lens, high-end, compact camera? Ricoh might have the answer for you with their recently unveiled GR Digital IV camera, which is the successor to the company's GR Digital III. With the GR Digital IV camera, there are some upgrades that hopefully some of you will find to justify the price.

For starters, Ricoh has upgraded the autofocus system on the GR Digital IV, and brought with it a new imagine engine and an improved optical filter. This new autofocus system is said to be twice as fast compared to the GR Digital III. It also sports a brand new 3" VGA LCD at the back of the camera.

The camera itself will be sporting a 10MP sensor with a fixed 28mm/f1.9 GR lens with 4x digital zoom. It will support SD and SDHC memory cards as well as wireless transfer by Eye-Fi SDHC storage cards. For those who love to have more control over the editing of their photos, the GR Digital IV is also capable of shooting in RAW format.

The Ricoh GR Digital IV will be available in two colors – a black color version which will cost $790, and a limited edition white version that will set you back $1,027.
source:Ubergizmo

Sony A65 DSLR Camera (Body Only) Available For Pre-Order At Amazon

Amazon has begun taking pre-orders for Sony's upcoming DSLR camera ‘A65 (body only)' via its online store. In case you didn't know, the A65 sports a 24.3-megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor, a 3.0-inch Xtra Fine (921k-dot) LCD monitor, an OLED electronic viewfinder, Sony's BIONZ image processor, Sony's Translucent Mirror Technology system, an SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot, 3D Sweep Panorama mode, an HDMI port and 1080p Full HD video recording capabilities (30fps). The Sony A65 DSLR Camera (body only) retails for $899.99. [Product Page]
source:TechFresh

Canon PowerShot S100 Point-and-Shoot Camera

Canon PowerShot S100 available in either black or silver, other features of this camera include: A large 3.0-inch wide LCD screen; GPS capabilities, a map utility software, an internal GPS logger; a full range of shooting and recording modes; Compatibility with the HF-DC2 High-Power Flash.
source:GIZMOGRAPH

Canon PowerShot S100

On pair with the new SX40 HS, Canon also released the new Powershot S100.

The new PowerShot S100 features also a High Sensivity 12.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS (1x1.7 type) along with a 24mm f2.0 with 5x optical zoom.

This new camera however does include a few interesting add-ons to the thiny body, such as GPS so that you can pin point each shot you take, Full HD, and a DIGIC 5 processor and 3.0-inch screen.

Canon unveils the PowerShot S100 - expert control, seriously compact

The new Canon PowerShot S100 is a powerful, versatile and highly compact camera offering photographers DSLR-like manual control and leading image quality, especially in low light. The most advanced PowerShot S-series model to date, the PowerShot S100 surpasses the high standards set by its acclaimed predecessor, featuring even better image quality thanks to an enhanced HS System, which combines a Canon high-sensitivity sensor with the very latest in Canon image processing technology - DIGIC 5.

Packed with upgrades, the PowerShot S100 marks a true step forward for the PowerShot S-series. Its 24mm ultra-wide angle, 5.0x optical zoom genuine Canon lens provides power and flexibility, and combines with Canon's Intelligent Image Stabilizer (IS) system to deliver crisp, clear images in stills and movies. The new GPS functionality can record the time and location of every shot and log your journey, Full HD movie recording captures stunning video, and the powerful DIGIC 5 processor offers fast shooting speeds and even better image quality in all conditions. All of these new features come in a super-slim body measuring just 26.7mm front-to-back, available in matte black and titanium silver variants.

Canon PowerShot S100 - key features:

High-sensitivity 12.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS (1x1.7 type)

HS System with powerful DIGIC 5

Ultra-wide 24mm, f/2.0, 5x zoom lens. Intelligent IS

Lens Control Ring, NR Control & RAW

GPS Full HD, HDMI

Large 7.5 cm (3.0″) LCD

High-speed Burst HQ

Smart Auto, Multi-area WB

Optional Waterproof Case

source:Akihabara News

Stepping into the Polaroid Matrix at Maker Faire

Sometimes it's the simplest questions that lead to the most important innovation - other times it's more that they're just plain fun to answer. Take the one asked by Grand Rapids, MI-artist, Sam Blanchard: what would the Brothers' bullet-time effect look like, were it shot on, say 20 Polaroids, instead of a room full of expensive digital devices? The answer, naturally, can be found in the Polaroid Matrix, a circle of cameras on display at Maker Faire in New York, this weekend. The Kickstarter success story arranges the cameras into a circle - a subject can be sat in the middle, or the cameras can be oriented outward, to take a panorama of the surrounding environment. Once the rig is fired up, the cameras make that familiar Polaroid warm up hum - times 20. The actual photographing happens almost in an instant, with 20 flashes. The photographer walks around the circle and collects 20 photos, which are bound into a photographic flipbook.
source:Engadget

Gomite Tiltpod For Digital Cameras

Using a digital camera tripod whenever you try to get into the picture is not always that convenient to use. Although they allow you to take self-shots or put yourself as part of the photos that you capture on your digital camera, it may also be troublesome to bring along. If you want something more handy and portable, then you may consider having this Gomite Tiltpod for digital cameras instead.

The Gomite Tiltpod does not look anything like the usual camera tripod but works the same way. It is small enough to attach to the camera's wrist strap, making it handy to use. It comes with a magnetic base and a screw mounted metal pivot tip that is attached to the digital camera's tripod screw insert.

The base of the Gomite Tiltpod magnetically attaches to the pivot tip and can be adjusted according to how the photographer wants to frame the image. The stable base makes it possible for users to take self-timer group shots, low light shots as well as a stable video without the need for some time consuming setup with a tripod. The Gomite Tiltpod is available at Gomite for US$18.
source:Gadget.com

Canon Powershot S100 Is a Low-Light Hotshot

Canon sneaks a brand new lens and sensor into its new S-series digicam

Take a popular camera line, whether compact or entry-level SLR, and you can be sure that it'll be updated every year. Whether it needs to be or not. Sometimes, though, these incremental updates hide some genuinely big changes. So it is with Canon's new S100.

On the surface, it looks like the S100 isn't much different from 2010's S95, itself a rather pedestrian upgrade from the S90. But despite the similarity of specs, there's a lot to like.

The most obvious addition is GPS. The S100 will geotag you images for you as you shoot. The next big leap is the DIGIC5 processor chip, apparently six times faster than the DIGIC IV, and with 100% less Roman numerals.

But the real changes come in the sensor and lens. The pixel count for the CMOS sensor jumps modestly, from 10 to 12 megapixels, but according to Canon it uses “EOS technology,” including bigger micro-lenses and on-chip noise-reduction to help low-light performance. At 1x1.7-inches, the sensor is still relatively large compared to most digicam sensors, and now shoots up to ISO 6400 quite happily. It can also capture 1080p video, up from the S95's 720p.

On paper, the lens also looks virtually unchanged. The maximum aperture is still ƒ2.0, and the zoom range now runs from 24-120mm instead of 28-105mm (35mm equivalent). But the lens elements are of an all-new design, and the image stabilization now features seven (seven!) different modes. One lame-ification of the new design is that the maximum aperture when zoomed to the longest focal length drops from ƒ4.9 to ƒ5.9.

There is also the obligatory smattering of new special FX. One of these is actually pretty useful, allowing different white balances in different parts of the frame to correct for mixed lighting.

The Powershot S100 will cost around $430.

Powershot S100 product page [Canon]
source:Gadget Lab

BenQ AE100 And AE200 Compact Digital Cameras

BenQ has rolled out the AE100 and AE200 compact digicams. Both cameras feature an F2.4-aperture lens, allowing you to easily capture high quality picture in low light environments without the use of flash. These cameras also support a 5x optical zoom, super-macro, and several special effects such as Panorama, Lomo, Fisheye, and Color Accent. The BenQ AE100 and AE200 come with a 16-megapixel and a 14-megapixel sensor, respectively. The BenQ AE100 comes in red and silver diamond design, while the BenQ AE200 comes in blue and gray. No word on pricing at this time.
source:TechFresh

The Camera Day Pack Is Just Big Enough

The Camera Day Pack won't break the bank, or your back

Having just spent a week walking around cities and towns in North Africa, I can tell you a thing or two about carrying a camera in a shoulder bag. It boils down to this: Pain. I took the Gadget Lab Stealth Bag with padding removed, and even then the weight of a Panasonic GF1, a lens and a few sundries cut into my shoulder and cricked my aging back after a few hours. If only I'd had the garish plastic Camera Day Pack from Photojojo.

Big enough, but not too big. A Goldilocks among bags, if you will

The bag is designed to carry an SLR with a flash, and the main compartment can be divided into two or three sections, or left as a single big cavern for larger setups. Crucially it also has a bunch of pockets (five) scattered variously around the edges for carrying other essentials like your wallet, memory cards and phone.

The nylon bag also zips shut to keep out dust and rain (and pilfering fingers), and has a pad on the strap so you don't suffer the same shoulder-crushing fate as I did.

Stealthy this bag is not, but it is certainly practical and comfortable looking. And at $60 it's cheap, as photo gear goes. Available now.

The Camera Day Pack [Photojojo]